ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will be at the opening round of the high-charged Ryder Cup next month in New York, and he thinks U.S. captain Keegan Bradley should be playing.
Trump posted Saturday night on his social media site that he would be there on Friday, Sept. 26, for the start of three-day matches between the United States and Europe.
He said he was invited by the PGA Tour, making a common mistake distinguishing between the tour and the PGA of America, which runs the Ryder Cup in America. A PGA of America spokesman said the organization and Bradley invited Trump.
Already the most raucous event in golf, this Ryder Cup has more anticipation than usual because of the venue — the Black course at Bethpage State Park on New York's Long Island, a public course with a reputation for having the rowdiest fans.
Given his passion for golf, it was expected Trump would make a presence at some point during the Ryder Cup. He met with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Tiger Woods earlier this year to try without success to solve the divide created by the breakaway, Saudi-funded LIV Golf. The PGA Tour announced this week it would return to Trump National Doral in Florida next year for the first time in nearly a decade.
The added wrinkle to this Ryder Cup is Bradley, who is debating whether to become the first captain to play in the matches since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
Bradley, 39, is the youngest American captain since Palmer was 34. Whether he should play and maintain captain duties has been the subject of much debate, and Bradley has added to the intrigue by winning twice in the last year.
He shot 63 on Saturday — a few hours before Trump's post on Truth Social — to get into fourth place with a chance to win the season-ending FedEx Cup.
“Keegan Bradley should DEFINITELY be on the American Ryder Cup Team — As Captain!!! He is an AMAZING guy. It will be a great Ryder Cup,” Trump wrote.
Trump, who attended the Super Bowl in February and most recently the final of the FIFA Club World Cup in New Jersey, is friendly with several prominent golfers. Bryson DeChambeau, who qualified for the U.S. team, has played golf with Trump and was the only golfer Trump appointed to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.
Bradley's decision on whether to play will come Wednesday when he announces his six captain's picks.
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Keegan Bradley reacts to his putt on the 18th green during the third round of the Tour Championship golf tournament, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot.
Defense attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson.
Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet entered a plea.
The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed, and he was unaware of any major case where attorneys had been disqualified for bias.
“I would bet against the defense winning this motion,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told The Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.”
The prosecutor’s 18-year-old daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and testimony. She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors.
Robinson's attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk's killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making,” according to court documents. They also argue that the “rush” to seek the death penalty is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution and merits disqualification of the entire team.
Defense attorney Richard Novak urged Judge Tony Graf on Friday to bring in the state attorney general’s office in place of Utah County prosecutors to address the alleged conflict of interest. Novak said it was problematic for county prosecutors to litigate on behalf of the state while defending their aptness to stay on the case.
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray argued that Novak’s last-minute request was aimed at delaying the case against Robinson. His office has asked Graf to deny the disqualification request.
“This is ambush and another stalling tactic,” Gray said.
Several thousand people attended the outdoor rally where Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump, was shot as he took audience questions.
The prosecutor's daughter, a student at Utah Valley University, texted a family group chat that day saying, “CHARLIE GOT SHOT.” Gray testified Friday that he was with his colleague when he received that text, and the colleague showed it to him.
In the weeks after the shooting, the young woman did not miss classes and reported no lasting trauma “aside from being scared at the time,” the affidavit said.
Gray emphasized that she was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “nearly everything” she knows about Kirk's killing is mere hearsay.
“There is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,” he said in a court filing.
The deputy county attorney and his daughter are expected to testify Feb. 3.
If Utah County prosecutors were disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake City, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, said Church, the prosecution council director. Graf would have the final say, he said.
Friday's hearing was briefly interrupted when the defense raised concerns that close-up shots of Robinson livestreamed by a local television station could be analyzed by lip readers to see what he was discussing with his attorneys. That prompted Graf to order the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.
Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role after the semester ends in May.
The state university has been working to expand its police force and add security managers after it was criticized for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18.
This story has been updated to correct the name of Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf presides over a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray addresses the court during a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
FILE - A U.S. flag hangs at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 17, 2025, over the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn, File)
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
